Father Timothy Radcliffe, pro-homosexual Dominican, appointed by Pope Francis as Consulter to Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace

16/05/15 21:50

CFN Intro: One cannot help but wonder if Pope Francis is a calculating enemy of the faith, or hideously incompetent due to his modernist mindset. Neither of the two are praiseworthy qualities. Francis continually manifests himself as a destroyer, particularly by his benevolent promotion of those who attack the most basic precepts of Catholic morality and natural law. Oremus - j. vennari

Father Timothy Radcliffe, pro-homosexual Dominican, appointed by Pope Francis as Consulter to Pontifical Council for Justice and PeaceMay 16: The Vatican Bollettino for today reports that Fr. Timothy Radcliffe OP, has been appointed by Pope Francis as Consultor to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The former Master General of the Dominican Order is aprominent supporter of the Kasperite proposal in favor of communion for the "divorced and remarried". He has also spoken out in favor of the ordination of women, if not to the priesthood, then at least to the diaconate (see this.) However he is more famous for his frequent public interventions pushing for greater acceptance of homosexuality, having been a frequent celebrant of the infamous "gay Masses" in Soho, London. Rorate has noted his blatant support for homosexuality a couple of times (see thisand this - scroll to the bottom of each post).

It is true that Radcliffe has "opposed" "gay marriage", but his farcical "opposition" rests on grounds entirely contrary to those of the Church: Radcliffe opposes it because, in his words: "'gay marriage' ultimately, we believe, demeans gay people by forcing them to conform to the straight world." His support for civil "same sex unions" and his lavish praise of homosexual "love" are a matter of public record, and led to repeated attempts last year by good and devout Catholics to prevent him from talking at the Divine Mercy Conference in Ireland (see this and this) and in San Diego, California (seethis reporton the Wanderer), as well as in the Flame 2 Youth Conference this year in London (read this). All these attempts failed -- and Radcliffe's acceptability has just received a major upgrade with this latest appointment. A tremendous slap to the face of so many good Catholics who had opposed him out of fidelity to the faith...

Vox Cantoris website expounded:Fr Radcliffe gave the following contribution to the Church of England ‘s review of homosexuality and gay marriage:

Fr Radcliffe OP expands the meaning of fertility to include gay sex

But not every marriage is fertile in this way. We must avoid having a mechanistic or simplistic understanding of fertility. Jesus speaks a fertile word: This is my body, given for you. He is God’s fertile word. And surely it is in the kind and healing words that we offer each other that we all share in fertility of that most intimate moment. When Jesus met Peter on the shore after Easter, he offers him a word that renews their relationship. Three times he asks him; ‘Do you love me more than these others?’ He allows him to undo his threefold denial. Sexual fertility cannot be separated from the exchange of words that heal, that recreate and set free.

How does all of this bear on the question of gay sexuality? We cannot begin with the question of whether it is permitted or forbidden! We must ask what it means, and how far it is Eucharistic. Certainly it can be generous, vulnerable, tender, mutual and non-violent. So in many ways, I would think that it can be expressive of Christ’s self-gift.

We can also see how it can be expressive of mutual fidelity, a covenantal relationship in which two people bind themselves to each other for ever. But the proposed legislation for ‘gay marriage’ imply that it is not understood to be inherently unitive, a becoming one flesh. [...]

And what about fertility? I have suggested that one should not stick to a crude, mechanistic understanding of fertility. Biological fertility is inseparable from the fertility of our mutual tenderness and compassion. And so that might seem to remove one objection to gay marriage. I am not entirely convinced, since it seems to me that our tradition is incarnational, the word becoming bodily flesh. And some heterosexual relationships may be accidentally infertile in this sense, but homosexual ones are intrinsically so.

Sexual ethics is about what our acts say. And I have the impression that we are not very sure of what gay sexual acts signify. Maybe we need to ask gay Christians who have been living in committed relationships for years. I suspect that sex will turn out to be rather unimportant.’

Fr Radcliffe on Holy Communion for Catholics who are divorced and re-married:

I would conclude with two profound hopes. That a way will be found to welcome divorced and remarried people back to communion. And, most important, that women will be given real authority and voice in the church. The pope expresses his desire that this may happen, but what concrete form can it take? He believes that the ordination of women to the ministerial priesthood is not possible, but decision-making in the church has become ever more closely linked to ordination in recent years. Can that bond be loosened? Let us hope that women may be ordained to the diaconate and so have a place in preaching at the Eucharist. What other ways can authority be shared?’